Definition
If-then behavioral contingencies are a way of understanding and explaining behavior. This framework gives precedence to the situation in which a behavior occurs rather than the personality traits of individuals engaging in the behavior.
Introduction
Mischel and Shoda (1995) introduced a cognitive-affective personality theory to account for previously unacknowledged differences in behavior based on situational factors. A core component of this theory is the idea of If…Then behavioral contingencies. If…Then contingencies outline a general formula to explain how people’s actions vary based on differing situations. Rather than defining people based on their traits, If…Then contingencies are based on the simple that if x situation occurs, then y behavior is likely to result.
Background
The cognitive-affective model was introduced as an alternative to...
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Rubenstein, A.X., Terrell, H.K. (2018). If-Then Behavioral Contingencies. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1797-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1797-1
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